The Alaska Nanooks men’s ice hockey team is set to compete in the 2025 Adirondack Winter Invitational, taking place at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York. The event will feature four teams: Alaska, St. Lawrence, Clarkson, and UMass Lowell. The Nanooks are scheduled to play against St. Lawrence on Friday, November 28 at 12 p.m. AKST and Clarkson on Saturday, November 29 at 3:30 p.m. AKST. They will not face UMass Lowell during this tournament.
Alaska returns to competition after tying two games with Quinnipiac and an exhibition match against Simon Fraser, following a two-week break.
Michael Citara has become the first Nanooks player this season to reach ten points, recording four goals and seven assists in eleven games. He is currently ranked 59th nationally in NCAA Division I for points per game and sixth among Independent skaters.
Among freshmen, Rylen Roersma leads with three points so far this season. Misha Danylov, William Fleet, and Davis Borozinskis each have two points.
On defense, Nathan Rickey leads with seven points from one goal and six assists. He is also second overall on the team for points and has recorded multi-point performances in recent games.
Dean Spak has accumulated four points over his last four games, including a three-game scoring streak between October 18 and October 31.
Team captain Chase Dafoe leads Alaska with three power-play goals this season, ranking him 25th nationally and second among Independents in this category. He shares the team lead for total goals with Citara at four apiece. Dafoe also ranks second among Independent skaters for faceoff wins with 123 victories so far.
Sophomore forward Peyton Platter has collected six points in his last seven games since his first point of the season on October 17 against Michigan Tech. In recent matches, he scored three points across two games and netted a crucial game-tying goal versus Quinnipiac.
This season Alaska players have recorded eight multi-point performances; Citara and Rickey each have two such games while Dafoe, Alexander Malinowski, Platter, and Spak have one each.
St. Lawrence University enters Friday’s matchup on a five-game losing streak after their only ECAC win came against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute earlier in November. Tyler Cristall leads St. Lawrence with fourteen points while Mason Kucenski is their primary goaltender with a .885 save percentage over eleven games.
Clarkson arrives at the invitational holding a record of 4-10 overall (1-5-0 ECAC) and will play UMass Lowell before facing Alaska on Saturday afternoon. UMass Lowell completes the field but will not compete directly against the Nanooks; they hold a record of 5-7-0 overall (3-3-0 Hockey East).
After this tournament, Alaska will host Grand Canyon University next week for its final home game of the year before traveling to Union College for back-to-back contests December 12–13 ahead of the holiday break. The team opens January with away games at Providence College—their first visit there since the 1993–94 season.
